Dr Otto Chan is a consultant radiologist, married and a father of 7 children. He is known as the whistleblower on several issues that related to patient safety, training issues in radiology. He also blew the whistle on terms of employment for flexible trainees. He is also the editor of a book, ABC of Emergency Radiology and co-editor of Ultrasound in Emergency Care .
He was sacked for alleged gross misconduct on 7 June 2006 by The Barts and The London NHS Trust [1] who run the Royal London Hospital. [2]
One of the main issues that led to him blowing the whistle was the thousands of X-ray films and scans that were left lying around, lined up in a London hospital's dirty corridor and stayed that way unchecked for years. They belonged to more than 100,000 patients. As a result of this being brought to attention the senior doctor who revealed the scandal, namely Dr Otto Chan had been sacked.[ citation needed ]
Some of the 15,000 packets of films and scans were kept in the corridors because the hospital lacked the money and means to analyse them all. It is estimated that only half of the films and scans were ever seen by a specialist. This meant that thousands of patients and their doctors will never know whether or not their images showed any signs of disease.
In 2002, the packages of films were locked away in a storeroom shortly before an official inspection visit. On other occasions, patients' x-ray films were hidden or rather locked in the car boots of consultants because they were so worried they would go missing. [3]
It was reported in the East London Advertiser on 28 November 2009 that the Barts & London trust former Head of Training and Clinical Director of Radiology Professor Peter Armstrong said that Dr Chan claiming trainees were unhappy was "pure fantasy". Angus Moon QC, who was representing the trust, said that Dr Chan's disclosure wasn't bonafide but he was stirring up trouble and it was a campaign to stir up as much trouble as possible for the trust. [2] [4]
In 2007 Dr Chan's home was burgled and due to what he believed to be lack of assistance from the police, he attempted to recover his own property and was threatened by the police for attempting to buy stolen goods even though he believed the goods to be his own. [5]
The police said that he had breached the Theft Act by promising in the posters that there would be no questions asked if the property was returned.[ citation needed ]
A picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is a medical imaging technology which provides economical storage and convenient access to images from multiple modalities. Electronic images and reports are transmitted digitally via PACS; this eliminates the need to manually file, retrieve, or transport film jackets, the folders used to store and protect X-ray film. The universal format for PACS image storage and transfer is DICOM. Non-image data, such as scanned documents, may be incorporated using consumer industry standard formats like PDF, once encapsulated in DICOM. A PACS consists of four major components: The imaging modalities such as X-ray plain film (PF), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a secured network for the transmission of patient information, workstations for interpreting and reviewing images, and archives for the storage and retrieval of images and reports. Combined with available and emerging web technology, PACS has the ability to deliver timely and efficient access to images, interpretations, and related data. PACS reduces the physical and time barriers associated with traditional film-based image retrieval, distribution, and display.
Radiography is an imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical radiography and industrial radiography. Similar techniques are used in airport security. To create an image in conventional radiography, a beam of X-rays is produced by an X-ray generator and is projected toward the object. A certain amount of the X-rays or other radiation is absorbed by the object, dependent on the object's density and structural composition. The X-rays that pass through the object are captured behind the object by a detector. The generation of flat two dimensional images by this technique is called projectional radiography. In computed tomography an X-ray source and its associated detectors rotate around the subject which itself moves through the conical X-ray beam produced. Any given point within the subject is crossed from many directions by many different beams at different times. Information regarding attenuation of these beams is collated and subjected to computation to generate two dimensional images in three planes which can be further processed to produce a three dimensional image.
Radiology is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases within the bodies of animals, including humans.
Medical imaging is the technique and process of creating visual representations of the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to reveal internal structures hidden by the skin and bones, as well as to diagnose and treat disease. Medical imaging also establishes a database of normal anatomy and physiology to make it possible to identify abnormalities. Although imaging of removed organs and tissues can be performed for medical reasons, such procedures are usually considered part of pathology instead of medical imaging.
Bowel obstruction, also known as intestinal obstruction, is a mechanical or functional obstruction of the intestines which prevents the normal movement of the products of digestion. Either the small bowel or large bowel may be affected. Signs and symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting, bloating and not passing gas. Mechanical obstruction is the cause of about 5 to 15% of cases of severe abdominal pain of sudden onset requiring admission to hospital.
An intravenous pyelogram (IVP), also called an intravenous urogram (IVU), is a radiological procedure used to visualize abnormalities of the urinary system, including the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. Unlike a kidneys, ureters, and bladder x-ray (KUB), which is a plain radiograph, an IVP uses contrast to highlight the urinary tract.
The Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the United Kingdom's NHS foundation trusts. It was originally named Addenbrooke's NHS Trust. It became a foundation trust and was renamed in 2004.
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) is a National Health Service academic teaching hospital in the Norwich Research Park on the western outskirts of Norwich, England.
Radiographers, also known as radiologic technologists, diagnostic radiographers and medical radiation technologists are healthcare professionals who specialise in the imaging of human anatomy for the diagnosis and treatment of pathology. Radiographers are infrequently, and almost always erroneously, known as x-ray technicians. In countries that use the title radiologic technologist they are often informally referred to as techs in the clinical environment; this phrase has emerged in popular culture such as television programmes. The term radiographer can also refer to a therapeutic radiographer, also known as a radiation therapist.
Victoria Hospital is a government run hospital affiliated with Bangalore Medical College now renamed Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute. It is the largest hospital in Bangalore, India. Started by Shri Krishnaraja Wodeyar, the then Maharaja of Mysore in 1901, the hospital soon rose to be among the prominent hospitals in South India. Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu, a famous doctor and bacteriologist from Kerala was instrumental in setting up the hospital.
Focused assessment with sonography in trauma is a rapid bedside ultrasound examination performed by surgeons, emergency physicians, and certain paramedics as a screening test for blood around the heart or abdominal organs (hemoperitoneum) after trauma.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is an NHS trust responsible for providing National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in the East of England region. These consist of approximately 6.2 million people and 7,500 square miles.
ABC of Emergency Radiology is a book edited by British radiologist Otto Chan. It is meant to be useful in emergencies by providing examples to refer to. The book addresses the difficulties in evaluating a radiograph during emergency situations. It also highlights comparisons between normal and abnormal radiographs. One of the main themes of the book is how to avoid the mistakes that can occur. It is aimed at trainee radiologists and medical students. It presents radiology from a British perspective and emphasizes plain radiography and sonography.
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust manages Queen Alexandra Hospital in Hampshire, England. It is one of six centres used by the Defence Medical Services.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust runs University Hospital Coventry and the Hospital of St. Cross situated in Rugby, Warwickshire. The trust works in partnership with the University of Warwick's Warwick Medical School.
Believers Church Medical College Hospital (BCMCH) is a healthcare institution of Believers Church based in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India. The Medical College is attached to a 500-bed, multi-speciality hospital. The Medical College, established in 2016, is situated in a campus of about 25 acres (10 ha) connected by rail and road.
Heartlands Hospital is an acute general hospital in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, England. It is managed by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
Everlight Radiology is a substantial provider of teleradiology services based in London and Australia.
The NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the temporary NHS Nightingale Hospitals set up by NHS England in 2020 to help to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital was constructed inside the Harrogate Convention Centre, Harrogate, and from 4 June 2020 was repurposed as a radiology diagnostic clinic.
Ignac Fogelman was a professor of Nuclear Medicine at King’s College London, Honorary Consultant Physician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust, and Director of the Osteoporosis Screening & Research Unit at Guy’s Hospital. He was born in 1948 in Germany and died on 5 July 2016 in the United Kingdom. He is known as the father of bone imaging by some researchers and academics.